Hatchling
by Almaron
Summary: A follow-up of sorts to Fatespeaker's Gift. Many years later, Starflight and Fatespeaker have become mates, and now the two await the birth of their first child. Please R&R!


Curled up closely beside his mate, Starflight moved his head against the warm egg nestled safely in the blankets before him. He and Fatespeaker were young parents, having only officially become mates in the last summer, but they had adjusted to their new roles far easier than Starflight would have thought possible; preparing their chambers for the addition of a hatchling and figuring out just how the two of them would care for their first child. And being heavy with egg hadn't slowed Fatespeaker down at all; over the last few months she had worked tirelessly in the Jade Mountain Library alongside Starflight, despite his attempts to get her to rest and not put herself under unnecessary strain. Fatespeaker had insisted that he needed her help, which wasn't entirely true, as years of being blind meant that there was now little that Starflight couldn't accomplish without assistance, but Starflight hadn't been able to dissuade his mate, and had ultimately been secretly happy to have her around while he worked; especially when she came to sit with him during the day, and he was able to rest against her side and run his paws along the bulge created by the egg growing within her chest.

In time, Fatespeaker had clutched a single egg, which she had told Starflight was the colour of his underscales, and the two new parents had developed a steady routine where they would regularly visit the egg during the day, and then curl up together around the egg once their day was through.

Frowning, Starflight gently nudged the egg with his nose.

"Shouldn't it have hatched by now?" he said, turning to face Fatespeaker. "Maybe we should check the scroll again."

Fatespeaker groaned. "Again, Starflight? You must know it by heart by now."

Starflight smiled sheepishly. "The scroll" was an old text about dragonesses who were expecting, and Starflight had consulted it regularly when Fatespeaker had been gravid...or rather, he had insisted that Fatespeaker read it to him whenever something came up which worried him about his mate or their unborn hatchling. As a result, Fatespeaker had grown quite sick of the scroll, and made no secret of her distaste with it.

"I suppose I do..." Starflight admitted. "But I just want to make sure that our egg will be all right."

Fatespeaker moved beside him, and Starflight felt his mate's head rub against his own.

"Our hatchling will be just fine, Starflight," she said, calmly. "I foresaw it, you know." she added with a chuckle.

Starflight smiled back, and lay his head back down against the warm egg, only to find that it was beginning to rock from side to side.

"Fatespeaker, look!" he said, as he heard the sound of cracking, and Fatespeaker gasping.

"What is it? What's happening?" he cried out, pulling his head back instinctively. "Fatespeaker? Is it...is he-"

Starflight suddenly felt a tiny body move against his forearm, and a small head rub itself on his scales. Carefully, he lowered his head, and gasped as two tiny paws touched his nose. A new voice squeaked with delight, and and Starflight felt his heart melt.

"Is she." Fatespeaker said, and Starflight could hear her voice breaking. "We have a daughter, Starflight."

"A daughter?" he said, slowly moving one paw which Fatespeaker took in her own, guiding him towards their hatchling. His paw brushed against smooth scales, and Starflight heard a happy crooning noise coming from his hatchling...his daughter.

"What...what does she look like?" he said, tears falling down his face as he cradled his child.

"Oh, she's beautiful, Starflight." Fatespeaker said, and Starflight could hear that she was crying as well. He felt her tail curl itself around his own. "She looks...she looks like you."

Starflight froze, and Fatespeaker's tail curled more tightly around his as she realised what he was thinking.

"I wish I could see her." he said in a quiet voice, lowering his head. Starflight heard a tiny yawn, and suddenly felt the warm body that was safe in his paws burrow into his forearm and begin to snore. Beside him, Fatespeaker had gone oddly quiet.

"Fatespeaker?" he said, moving his head to face her. "I'm sorry, I-"

"Wait here." she said, and before he could ask what she was doing, she had rushed out of the room. She wasn't gone long, however, and Starflight soon heard her entering the room again, and racing to his side.

"Hold out your paw." she said, excitedly.

Starflight obliged, and felt something small drop into his palm. He closed his talons around it; trying to figure out what the strange object was. It didn't take him long, as the shape was a familiar one.

"The dreamvisitor?" Starflight said, realising just what Fatespeaker wanted him to do with it. Sunny had brought the enchanted object with her to Jade Mountain when they were building the academy, and they had all taken turns using it over time for varying reasons. Starflight had used it more in his youth, as it allowed him small glimpses of the world through the dreams of others, but had decided over time that it wasn't worth relying upon, and so had started using it less and less as he'd aged. The last time he'd used it had been shortly before he and Fatespeaker had become mates; as the two of them had grown steadily closer, he had found himself becoming more and more curious to know just how she had grown, and wanting to find out if her scales had become any more beautiful than they had been when he last looked upon them.

Starflight would never forget that night. The two of them had curled up together in their nest, and once Starflight had heard the sounds of Fatespeaker's soft snoring, he had held the dreamvisitor against his head and concentrated, and with a sudden flash of light - something that Starflight was sure he would never get used to; it reminded him too much of the fateful explosion where he had lost his sight - she had been there before him. Three moons, he had thought, she was beautiful, and his next thoughts had been astonished ones about how fortunate he'd been to win her heart. Then she'd smiled, Starflight remembered, and she'd taken his talons in her own, and guided him to a nearby pool, so that he could see his own face. It had been a strange sensation to be able to look at his own reflection and see his sightless eyes staring back at him, but it wasn't something he had regretted. And then, he'd looked back at her, and...Starflight couldn't think of a time when he'd been more happier. Except perhaps now, he mused, as he cradled his daughter close to his chest; the young dragonet softly cooing in her sleep.

"But...I'll scare her." he eventually said. "She's too young."

"You won't." Fatespeaker said, nuzzling his forehead. "You're her father." She brushed her paws against his. "Go on."

Starflight was nervous, but raised the dreamvisitor to his head and soon saw the familiar flash as he was launched into the visions of another. The world around him was strange and confused; the hatchling's thoughts not being fully formed yet, but Starflight was still able to make out a tiny black shape happily bouncing across a world of blankets; unmistakably Fatespeaker's child, he thought with a mixture of humour and pride. Tentatively, Starflight moved closer, and the young dragoness - she did look like him - looked up at him and smiled, reaching out to Starflight with both foreclaws.

"My child." he said, wrapping his wings around her and pulling her close as he started weeping again. In time, he reluctantly let go, knowing he shouldn't disturb her dreams for longer than he had to, and the familiar darkness returned to him as the dreamvisitor released him from its spell.

Starflight felt Fatespeaker's head brush against his own, and she nuzzled him again as he wrapped his wings around her; crying tears of joy.

"I love you, Fatespeaker."

"I love you, Starflight."


End file.
